The Cake Eaters marked Bartok's screenwriting debut, and he also wrote and directed his first short film called Stricken, starring Hayley Mills.
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In the 1990s, his TV appearances included an ABC unsold pilot entitled Coconut Downs, a recurring role on the Judith Ivey sitcom Down Home (NBC, 1991), an episode of NBC's Law & Order, and the pilot episode of its spin-off Criminal Intent.